OSEA Safety Blog

Five Reasons to Work Safe on the Jobsite- Written by Guest Writer Annie Klutz

Monday, October 15, 2018 Annie Klutz

Diversity in industries means there are jobs with more occupational hazards than others. Still, the fact of the matter is that there's absolutely no reason for anyone to take workplace safety lightly. Here are five reasons why:

1. Your health and wellbeing are of the utmost importance

Of course, health and wellbeing should be the biggest motivators on why you ought to work safe. As pointed out in 'Five Reasons to Work Safe Today' by Safety Talk Ideas, a “severe injury would change the rest of your life,” and often not in the most positive of ways. Imagine getting a severe injury because of your carelessness at work. How will you earn and who will take care of you? How can you recover fully?

2. To stay productive

When you get sick or injured, you’ll miss days or even weeks of work, which will effect your productivity. And even upon your return, there’s a chance that you won’t be 100% back to where you were pre-injury. It's bad news for the company, and as you will find out next, it is bad news even for you.

3. Keep your income intact

Missed workdays mean salary deductions. Even worse is the impact of any dip in performance, especially if you are working in a company that gives commission depending on the sales/outcome of the project you’re working on. And although it's a worst-case scenario, you also cannot discount the fact that poor performance can lead to termination.

4. Stay free from stress

If you get hurt and are now on a shoestring budget, it’s only natural that you will experience stress. You need to think of ways to make ends meet. Plus, you will worry about your job and it can impact how quickly you heal and get better. That’s a lot to deal with, isn’t it?

5. Happy family

At the end of the day, your at-work carelessness will affect your family as well. They’ll have to take care of you while you recover, and they’ll have to do it on a smaller budget. There’s a good chance, too, that they’ll feel your stress.

As you can see, a single accident can have a ripple effect. This is why Medium emphasizes the importance of creating a safe work environment. Even the government is doing its part in ensuring workplace safety via the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), along with other government agencies that support particular kinds of workers like the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The FMCSA handles the concerns of all drivers, including truckers, who are considered the backbone of the US economy. To encourage proper road safety, the agency implemented the Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate last December. Verizon Connect explains that this can be done by using ELDs to strictly monitor time on the road to make sure that drivers are meeting government-mandated Hours of Service. This means not driving for more than 11 hours straight at a time or over 14 hours in a single day to avoid fatigue. The ELD mandate is a means to keep truckers safe on the job.

OSHA regulations and ELD Mandate aside, we’ll reiterate what we said in 'A Look at Scissor Lifts and Fall Protection' four years ago. What matters is that we all get serious about preventing accidents onsite. That means everyone must participate in efforts to improve workplace safety. OSEA can help in that regard by providing expert consultation on safety related issues.

Written by Guest Writer: Annie Klutz

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